If you're fed up with nay-sayers bitching about djent being a non-genre, just make them listen to this superb EP. All the requirements are here, along with truly stellar songwriting, soaring vocals and a maverick ear for non-banal pop melodies.

Here's an album that we all missed when it was first released back in 2009. This is probably because the band only released it on vinyl and as an mp3 bundle on their website. Well, it's a real shame that no real promotion was done for Kiss The Lie because it is a superb little hidden gem, filled to the brim with complex riffs, unorthodox song structures, innovative instrumental virtuosity and some of the best melodies Candiria ever composed.

Note: The version floating around on iTunes is not endorsed by the band since it is unfinished. You need to go to http://risingpulse.com/ to get the real thing.

With one of the best EPs ever released by any band, TesseracT will be remembered forevermore for helping to define djent as a seperate genre. Or maybe not, its a pretty stupid term actually. Anyway, who cares?

This is forward-thinking, innovative metal of the highest caliber. Beautiful and also frighteningly heavy, Concealing Fate is a great teaser of the band's upcoming LP One. Mandatory for anyone reading this.

Musica Diablo is thrash metal with the right philosophy: keep it speedy and simple. No bull-shit, no world-music influences - let's just play like Slayer, Exodus, Anthrax or Nuclear Assault but FASTER. Mission accomplished - this is a supremely fun assault of thrash goodness.

Sometimes all you need is some solid, no-bullshit death metal. This album provides exactly this with no pretension whatsoever. It's just a whole lot of fun. No need to overdo stuff or indulge in all kinds of silly evil shtick. Great songwriting, brutality and groove - this is all that really matters.

Excellent piece of filthy, primal and pure crust from this completely unknown band. This album is truly ferocious in every sense of the word - crude, corrosive, cathartic and downright frightening. Nevertheless, beneath this apocalyptic rumble lies a layer of surprisingly deep intricacy, melody and emotion, spawned by some of the most abrasive vocals ever recorded.

Although the songwriting can be at times patchy, this is still the best album in recent memory for the sound fetishists amongst us. A meditation on the pure sonic impact and bliss that comes from listening to a distortion guitar, Cutthroat Melodies, when played on a good sound system, will definitely remind us why we got into metal in the first place.

Heavy metal Armored Saint-style is still a very rare commodity and La Raza reminds us why: these veteran metallers are still capable of crafting music with a unique, powerful and vital sense of energy and soul. The songwriting might no be as stellar as on, say, Symbol Of Salvation; however, La Raza still offers more than enough gimmick-free heavy metal to satisfy any fan.